


Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

by SatyrSyd37



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Confessions, M/M, Sad, Unresolved Tension, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 08:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5410502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SatyrSyd37/pseuds/SatyrSyd37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bokuto has known he's had a crush on Akaashi for a long time. He knows he needs to tell Akaashi how he feels, but what's the harm in waiting a little longer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not good at writing angst so I need to practice - so here, have this.

“Have you asked Akaashi out yet?” Kuroo asked him.

“I – um - good things come to those who wait!” Bokuto said.

Bokuto always thought that phrase was ridiculous. If you wanted something, you had to go out and get it yourself, not wait patiently until you got lucky. That’s how he approached volleyball. Those people who waited on the sidelines, only hoping for a chance to play instead of practicing as hard as Bokuto did, would never be as good as him.

Bokuto  _hated_  that saying – but now he was using it as justification for being a coward. “Wow…” Kuroo remarked. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Ugh, I  _know_.”

A month ago, Bokuto had realized he had a crush on his setter. And it had been an agonizingly uncomfortable month. Once Bokuto had realized how he felt about Akaashi, it was impossible to ignore his feelings. His voice always went high pitched when he talked to Akaashi, and he jumped away from any contact even quicker than Akaashi could pull away. Things between them were unbearably awkward, so much so that even Konoha had taken him aside and asked him if everything was okay between them.

“Y-yes! Definitely! No, yeah, uh, we’re perfectly fine!” Bokuto had managed to say.

Konoha had raised his eyebrows. “You’re a horrible liar, Captain.”

“I know,” Bokuto had said dejectedly.

Bokuto wondered why he was even waiting to tell Akaashi how he felt. He knew that Akaashi liked him back, right? That’s what Kuroo had said.

Actually, that’s probably why he was reluctant. Kuroo had said so. Kuroo couldn’t even handle his own love life – why was Bokuto taking his word? He was probably wrong, Akaashi probably hated him. Why would someone as pretty as Akaashi even like him in the first place?

“Hey,” Kuroo said, pulling Bokuto out of his daze. “Akaashi likes you. I know he does – and if you don’t know that by now, you’re just being stupid. You’re just chickening out. That’s why you’re waiting.”

“I know,” Bokuto sighed dramatically. “But…good things… _waiting_ …”

Kuroo bit his lip. He looked concerned. “…just remember that if you wait too long, those good things will pass you by.”

 

The next day Bokuto came in to practice in one of his moods. He just couldn’t get the thought out of his head –  _have you asked Akaashi out yet?_  He wanted to, he really did – but what if Kuroo was wrong, what if Akaashi didn’t actually like him? He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Akaashi, especially if he had no chance with him in the first place. He was better off waiting until he was  _absolutely sure_  Akaashi liked him back. As if that would ever happen in a million years.

He warmed up with the others, not saying a word. He avoided Akaashi, not that it mattered because Bokuto knew, he  _knew_  Akaashi was avoiding him too. If you liked someone, you wouldn’t  _avoid_  them, would you? There was no way that was a sign that Akaashi liked him. In fact, they were probably growing apart.

Bokuto sighed. He really hoped they weren’t actually growing apart. Volleyball wouldn’t be the same without Akaashi around to toss for him.

After their warm up, the coach had him practice spikes with Akaashi.

“Are you ready, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked. It was the first time he’d spoken to Bokuto all practice.

Unconsciously, Bokuto perked up. He nodded. Even when he was in these moods, he still had volleyball. And volleyball was so much better with Akaashi around.

Akaashi tossed the ball, nice and high where Bokuto liked to spike them most. He ran and leapt into the air, swinging his hand down and sending a powerful straight spike over the net.

“Nice spike.” Akaashi gave him a shy smile.

This time Bokuto smiled back. Maybe this was all Bokuto needed – Akaashi tossing to him and cheering him on. Yeah, asking him out would just complicated things. “Thanks!”

The rest of practice went the same way. It only took a few more tosses for Bokuto to snap back into his regular attitude. He wasn’t even bothered when Konoha asked him about the literature project that was due next week.

“Ha – I already finished it!” Bokuto sang proudly.

“What?!” Konoha sighed. “Ugh, I haven’t even started…”

“I’m busy babysitting my nieces this weekend, so I finished it last weekend when I visited Kuroo. Isn’t that great, Akaashi?” Bokuto turned to his setter excitedly, “I’m not going to procrastinate any more, ever!”

Akaashi rolled his eyes. “Good job, Bokuto-san.”

His face turned red. “Um, thanks,” Bokuto said, trying to calm his beating heart. He felt like such an idiot, spouting his stupid accomplishments just so Akaashi could compliment him. He used to do it all the time, but now…Kuroo was right. He had it bad.

 

After practice, Akaashi came up to him. His face was red - probably from that extra hard practice - and he fidgeted back and forth in his heels.

"Bokuto-san, there's something I need to tell you - ”

_Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!_

They both jumped at the sound of Bokuto phone going off. "Ah, sorry Akaashi, just a second - " he reached into his bag and pulled out his phone. "Hey hey hey! Whooooo is it?"

_"What did I tell you about that ridiculous greeting?"_

"Kuroo! What's up?"

_"You left your something at my house again. I think it’s your literature project?"_

"Oh shit." Bokuto needed that project for Monday. All that work he had done trying to get it done early didn’t matter one bit if he didn’t have the actual project. “I should go get that…”

_"Can you come by Sunday?”_

“Sunday,” Bokuto repeated. “Wait – Sunday…”

That’s when he would be babysitting his nieces. All day. “Shit! I don’t think I can. I, um, I promised my sister I’d babysit her kids, like, all day…so I won’t have time.”

_“That fucking sucks."_

“Ah, but I really need that project…!” He couldn’t afford to get another bad grade in literature; that was the class he struggled the most with.

“Would you like me to go?" Akaashi suggested. Bokuto jumped; he’d forgotten Akaashi was still standing there.

Bokuto’s eyes widened. "You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do it for the team, Bokuto-san. If you get bad grades in literature then you can’t play volleyball, and out team would look bad if our captain got kicked out for his shitty grades.”

"Oh...! Yeah,” Bokuto scratched the back of his neck guiltily. “I guess that’s true…”

_“Bo? You still there?”_

“Sorry bro!” Bokuto said into his phone. He glanced at Akaashi, who gave him a small nod, before telling Kuroo, “Hey, _I_  can’t exactly get it, but because Akaashi’s an actual angel, he’s going to get it for me! Is that okay?”

_“’Course it is. I’ll text him my address. Tell him he can stop by any time that day. Kenma and I are just going to hang around. He has a new game he wants to play.”_

“Thanks Kuroo!”

_“Don’t thank me, thank your man Akaashi. Oh! You know how you should thank him? With a passionate, wet, ki – ”_

Bokuto quickly hit the end call button before Kuroo could finish saying his thought. He could already feel his face burning up.

“Kuroo said you could stop by whenever,” he told Akaashi, trying hard to cool his emotions.

“I heard,” Akaashi responded.

Bokuto gulped nervously. “Ah, you could hear all that?”

“Not all of it.”

He sighed with relief. He'd die of embarrassment if Akaashi had heard Kuroo's last comment. “Good.” 

“Good?”

“Um!” Bokuto searched his mind for a reasonable excuse. “…sometimes Kuroo says, you know, _weird stuff.”_

Akaashi raised his eyebrow.

“You probably already know that.”

Akaashi smiled. Even though it was small, barely noticeable, it sent a thrill up Bokuto’s spine. He hated that Akaashi’s grins did that to him.

Bokuto was putting his phone in his bag, trying to get rid of his oncoming blush, when he remembered why Akaashi had come to him in the first place. "Oh! Akaashi I just remembered! There was something you wanted to tell me earlier, but stupid Kuroo interrupted."

"...hm?" He seemed slightly dazed.

"Was there...something...?”

Akaashi looked like he was reluctant to say anything. Bokuto cocked his head. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" Even if things had been weird between them, he still considered himself close to Akaashi, and he wanted Akaashi to know that he would always be there for him.

Akaashi gave a quick nod. "Of course I do. It's just…it’s…nothing.”

Bokuto frowned. He felt like Akaashi was hiding something. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

 

Bokuto felt so bad about making Akaashi go in his stead that he came to the station to see Akaashi off. At least, that’s what he told Akaashi. And that was partly the reason why he came. But he had other motives, too.

Kuroo was right – he had to stop waiting. He to tell Akaashi how he felt.

So that’s how he ended up standing next to Akaashi at the busy station.

“You didn’t have to come Bokuto-san. You’re going to be late to your nieces’ house if you stay much longer,” Akaashi told him.

“I – I know, but I felt really bad and felt like I needed to come!” Bokuto explained. Akaashi rolled his eyes, but smiled faintly. Bokuto’s heart thumped loudly in his chest, and he felt a blush dust his cheeks.

Bokuto felt like he needed to say more, he  _did_  need to say more, but the right words wouldn’t come out.  He shuffled his feet uncomfortably, trying to hold Akaashi’s attention so he wouldn't leave yet. “D-do you remember Kuroo’s address?”

“I know it,” Akaashi said. He shifted his bag on his shoulder, and took a step back. “If that’s all – ”

“Wait!” Bokuto shouted, yanking Akaashi’s sleeve back. Akaashi stumbled backwards, almost tumbling into Bokuto. Bokuto embarrassingly released his grip on Akaashi’s sleeve. “Sorry, sorry!”

Akaashi righted himself, and asked, exasperated, “What is it now?”

This was it. Bokuto took a deep breath, and took a step closer to Akaashi.

The other boy’s eyes widened, gleaming in the artificial lighting of the station.

“Akaashi…I gotta ask you something.”

Akaashi blinked. “Can it wait, Bokuto-san? I’m going to miss the train. And it’s you who’s going to suffer if I miss it.”

Bokuto straightened up. “Right! Wouldn’t want that…” He twiddled his thumbs. He’s been prepared to tell Akaashi, he’d even worn his favorite owl sweater Akaashi had bought him for the occasion. Before now, he’d been nervous, but the words and the confidence he needed were finally coming to him. He  _had_  to ask now. Or else he might never find the confidence again. “…but it’s kind of important….” he mumbled.

Akaashi sighed and crossed his arms. “Just don’t take too long.” Akaashi looked impatient, but Bokuto could tell he really did care. He was just trying to cover up how much he actually cared. As he stared at Bokuto with concern in his steely eyes, Bokuto’s insides turned to jelly.

He took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“Akaashi,” he said, “these past few years have been the best years of my life! Well, the classes have been pretty rough, to be honest, but everything else has been awesome!”

Akaashi had a strange look on his face. “Bokuto-san, what – “

“Just – just let me finish,” Bokuto interrupted. Akaashi nodded reluctantly. He needed to lay it all out, to get the words out of his mouth before they disappeared forever. “I really love playing volleyball with you guys. I think we’ve all formed a strong bond. You guys are all my friends, and because of you, I’ve had a lot of fun.

"And yeah, the team’s great…but I kinda mean you specifically.

“You mean a lot to me. You’re always by my side, even when I have one of my…moods…and that’s saying a lot because not a lot of my friends have stuck with me because of it. You’re kinda harsh with me sometimes, but I know it’s because you just want me to grow stronger because you care about me. At least, I hope so. Or else that would be really embarrassing.”

Bokuto’s face was burning, but Akaashi’s face was just as red.  _Here it goes,_  he thought. He forced himself to look right into Akaashi’s eyes.

“So what I’m saying is…Akaashi, you’re different than any other friend I’ve had. My feelings for you go beyond friendship. I really, really like you. In the  _like_  like way. Will you go out with me?”

Akaashi’s face was red, his eyes wide, his lips slightly parted. But Bokuto couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Oh god, what if he got it all wrong? His heart was wrecked with nerves, pounding loud and uneven in his chest.

“Y-yes,” Akaashi said. His lips drew into a smile. “Of course I will go out with you Bokuto-san. I thought you’d never ask.”

_Yes._

_Of course I will go out with you Bokuto-san._

Akaashi had agreed – Bokuto’s feelings were reciprocated.

“R-really?” he stuttered, unable to make any other words that would express how incredibly happy and lucky he felt right now.

“Yes,” Akaashi nodded. He reached out and took his hands. “Yes, I’d really like that, Bokuto-san. I think…I think I've liked you for a long time, too.”

Bokuto was smiling so wide, he thought his face would split in half. He was so happy, with Akaashi holding his hands and knowing that they would be boyfriends -

Bokuto leaned closer to Akaashi, as if he was falling into Akaashi’s gravity field. It was a pull he couldn't resist. As he got closer, his eyes gently slid closed - 

He opened them with a start when his lips met a cold finger. At first Bokuto was confused, but then he saw the grin in Akaashi’s eyes.

"Not yet," he said, his finger still pressing against Bokuto's lips. "I want to wait until I get back."

Bokuto quickly backed up. "Oh." A blush spread across his face as he avoided Akaashi’s gaze. "Um, why?"

As soon as the word was out of his mouth he immediately regretted it. That was his hormones speaking, he was moving too quickly – of  _course_  he was moving too quickly, he’d only just asked Akaashi out, and Akaashi had said  _yes_ , but needed to be more patient…

Akaashi’s hand reached out to touch his chin, guiding Bokuto’s face to look at him. "Because," he said. Even though Akaashi was all smooth moves and words, his face was still as red as Bokuto’s. "That way I have something to look forward to when I get back."

Bokuto’s mouth dropped open. Akaashi only wanted to wait because being with Bokuto – kissing him – would keep him motivated. Bokuto swore he blushed all the way down to his toes.

He enveloped Akaashi in a crushing hug. "Promise me you'll call? I want to know everything!"

Akaashi wrapped his arms hesitantly around Bokuto. Bokuto knew Akaashi didn’t like touching too much, so he usually refrained from hugs, but Bokuto felt he needed to at least leave Akaashi with a promise – a promise that this was only the beginning.

“I'll text you as soon as I arrive,” Akaashi said into his shoulder. He pulled away and adjusted his bag on his back, and began to walk away, a faint smile still gracing his lips.

"Promise?" Bokuto asked before he could leave.

Akaashi turned back and called, "On my grave, Bokuto-San." He waved his hand one last time.

“Bye…!” Bokuto called after him, but Akaashi had already been swallowed up by the crowd.

 

Good things come to those who wait. And they  _did_. After waiting all this time, it had finally been worth it – all the agonizing days of waiting had amounted to this. He had asked Akaashi out. And Akaashi had said yes.

And when he got back, Bokuto would greet him with a kiss.

 

Akaashi’s train was supposed to arrive at eleven o'clock. As Bokuto watched over his nieces, he kept glancing at his phone, which he kept right by his side.

As soon as the clock struck eleven, Bokuto’s attention once again slid from his nieces to his phone.

It stayed black. 

Ten minutes later, and no text.

Bokuto tapped his leg furiously. Maybe the train was delayed; maybe there was a lot of traffic. Maybe Akaashi just forgot to text him.  _Yeah, it's only been ten minutes._

Bokuto played with dress-up with his nieces, but he just couldn’t concentrate. His eyes kept flitting to his phone. Bokuto knew he shouldn’t get so worked up about a stupid thing like this. But it worried Bokuto that Akaashi hadn’t texted him back, even though he promised. Akaashi didn’t break his promises easily.

“Koutarou-san! How does my outfit look?” one of his nieces asked.

“Looks great,” he muttered.

“You didn’t even look!”

“Sorry.”

An hour later, Bokuto sends his first text.

**To Akaashi:**

_hey hey hey! where's that text you promised me?_

**To Akaashi:**

_come on, akaashi!_

**To Akaashi:**

_akaashi?_

**To Akaashi:**

_please text me._

Why wasn't Akaashi answering him?

Bokuto sighed and flopped down on the couch, letting his nieces play with each other.

There was probably a reason Akaashi wasn’t texting back. Maybe his phone died. Maybe he missed his train and had to take a different, later one. Or he forgot. Or he's already at Kuroo’s and couldn’t check his phone, out of politeness to Kuroo of course.

Bokuto hoped it wasn’t because he thought Bokuto was being weird earlier.

Suddenly his phone buzzed. Bokuto leap out of his bed and snatched up his phone.

**_1 New Message._ **

_Fucking finally!_  Bokuto was totally going to bother Akaashi about this, he was going to tear Akaashi a new one, but -

But the text wasn't from Akaashi. It was from Kuroo.

**From Kuroo Tetsurbro**

_Bro I thought you said you'd send Akaashi in your place?_

Bokuto frowned and texted back.

**To **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_um I did???_

**From **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_Well he's not here_

**To **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_he hasn't been responding to my texts either.._

If Bokuto didn’t deserve to be worried before, he definitely did now.

**To **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_oh god kuroo this is bad…_

**From **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_Maybe something came up?  Like he had an emergency or something_

**From **Kuroo** Tetsurbro**

_That would explain why hes not responding now_

Kuroo was probably right. He shouldn’t worry. There was a reasonable explanation for this. Akaashi could handle himself.

But that didn’t stop Bokuto from becoming a walking mess of nerves. He tried to pay attention to his nieces' fashion show, and tried not to burn the rice he made for their dinner, but his eyes kept wandering back to his phone.

The whole night, it stayed silent.

 

Akaashi wasn't at school on Monday.

Bokuto felt sick to his stomach. He couldn’t concentrate in class. At practice, he asked everyone if they had heard from Akaashi, but no one had. Not even the coach.

After school, he decided to go to Akaashi’s house. He had to figure out what was wrong.

He ran to Akaashi’s house as soon as the bell rang. He knocked on the door furiously until it swung open, revealing both of Akaashi’s parents.

They looked surprised to see Bokuto. His father had his arm around his mother’s waist. Both their eyes were rimmed with red.

Bokuto felt his stomach drop.

“…Akaashi?” he mumbled, unsure of what else to say.

Akaashi’s father’s gaze dropped. “You better come in, Bokuto-san.”

They held the door open wider, and Bokuto followed them inside. He took off his shoes carefully, his hands shaking. 

“I…where’s Akaashi?” he stammered.

Akaashi’s mother looked at him with a smile that held no joy. “We’d like to ask you the same thing, Bokuto-san,” his mother said.

The walked into the kitchen, where two policemen stood.

Bokuto stopped in his tracks. “Why….”

Akaashi’s father placed his hand on Bokuto’s shoulder. “Keiji…our son….He’s missing.”

 

Missing child: Akaashi Keiji. Those weren't words Bokuto ever thought he'd hear. Not because it was improbable, but because the thought never occurred to him that Akaashi would ever be anywhere other than by his side. Akaashi, who was always so good at taking care of himself that he could handle taking care of Bokuto as well. He was always strong for Bokuto when Bokuto couldn't be strong for himself. 

For him to simply have disappeared was the worst kind of exit. No dramatic departure, no screams or shouts or blood and guts. No hospital beds or waiting rooms or teary speeches. No good byes. Akaashi was simply gone. He vanished with the brightness of a pitch-black night and the loudness of a whisper.

The uncertainty was the worst part. Not knowing was almost worst than knowing because he held on to a single thread of hope even after months of searching. 'Missing' held too many mysteries for Bokuto to comprehend. He was in limbo, caught between distraught and hope, anger and sadness. So he became numb. His friends thought he was just in one of his moods, but they quickly realized that this time was different. It wasn't a mood; it was a state of being. Bokuto allowed the arms of numbness to wrap around him and hold him tight. 

Bokuto wanted to cry. He wanted to shout and scream and wail in frustration and pain and every other goddamn emotion that raced through his brain. But his eyes were dry. His mouth remained closed. He didn’t open it for a very long time.

And when he finally did, he found no words to express his suffering.

For months, Bokuto lingered in his dejected mode. He didn't think he'd ever come out of it.

 

Sixth months after the disappearance, Bokuto heard a knock at his door. He continued staring at the textbook at his desk and didn’t pay attention to the noise. He didn’t pay much attention to anything these days. He went to school. He played volleyball, though it wasn’t the same anymore. His top five ranking plummeted, but Bokuto didn’t care. He didn’t care much about anything.

The time he didn’t spend at school or playing volleyball he spent in his room, sleeping or browsing the Internet or staring at the wall. His mother even developed the habit leaving Bokuto’s dinner outside his door when he stopped coming down to eat.

But she never knocked.

The door opened – Bokuto could see out of his peripheral vision that it was Kuroo.

The last time he saw Kuroo was at a practice match. They hadn’t spoken much – though that was intentional on Bokuto’s part. How could he face his best friend after everything that had happened?

Kuroo closed the door behind him and walked up to Bokuto’s side.

“Hey,” he said. “How are you doing?”

Bokuto didn’t answer. He didn’t take his eyes off his textbook, even though he’d stopped reading it a long time ago.

“We haven’t talked for awhile.”

When Bokuto remained silent, Kuroo spun his chair around so they faced each other. Kuroo’s eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were drawn tight.

“Bo…you have to get up,” he said. “Wake up. You’re barely living. Akaashi – ”

“Don’t!” Bokuto yelled reflexively, turning away. Hearing his name, thinking his name still summoned wave of anguish in Bokuto’s thoughts.

Kuroo squatted so they were eye level. He looked at Bokuto intently. “You have to let him go.”

“I can’t!” If he could, Bokuto wouldn’t be living like a shell now. “I’ve tried…god, I’ve  _tried_ …but I can’t.”

“You have to!” Kuroo protested.

“How can I let him go,” Bokuto countered, forcing his words out of his mouth, “when I  _just_  had him in my reach?”

“…what do you mean?” Kuroo asked.

Bokuto hadn’t told anyone else what had happened at the station. He’d told the policemen he was just seeing Akaashi off, he’d told Akaashi’s parents that they’d merely exchanged good-byes. The words to tell this part of the story were usually stuck in his throat, but right then, with Kuroo looking so confused and concerned before him, the words finally slipped from his lips.

“Before he…before he boarded that  _fucking_  train…I told him. I told him, Kuroo. I told him I l-liked – _love_  him.”

“Bokuto…”

Bokuto sobbed heavily through a hysteric grin. “And you k-know what he said?” He wished he would just cry, he needed to weep and sob, but the tears never came. “He said yes! He – he said he’d l-loved me for a long time, too.

“W-w-we could have had something. All along, we could have had something. We wasted all that time just pining after each other, when we should have been together. You were right. I shouldn’t have waited.”

For a moment, Kuroo was speechless. He watched Bokuto with the utmost sympathy in his cat-like eyes. “You couldn’t have known that you – that you...”

“…had so little time left?” Bokuto finished for him. Kuroo gulped nervously. “That – t-that doesn’t matter. I should have told him sooner.”

Kuroo gripped Bokuto’s shoulders with steady hands. “Bokuto, _you couldn’t have known_. Akaashi’s d-disappearance was…completely unexpected.  No one saw it coming. I know you had something with him, and that could have bloomed into something really wonderful. But he – he’s gone now. That can’t – you can’t dwell on something that can never happen. I know it’s hard, but you need to move on.”

“How can I? “ Bokuto yelled. He trembled from his toes to his fingers to his quivering lips. Dry sobs tore at his throat. “He’s gone and it’s my fault!”

Kuroo gripped his hands tighter on Bokuto’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault,” he said steadily.

Bokuto ripped his shoulders away from Kuroo’s grasp and scrambled out of his chair. “It is! If I hadn’t forgotten my  _stupid_  fucking project at your  _stupid_  fucking house, A-Akaashi wouldn’t have had to go back and get it for me! Hell, if I had remembered my project was at your house earlier, I could have gone myself!” He stood up and grabbed his hair, exasperated. “If it weren’t for me, Akaashi would still be here! It should have been me, not him!”

 _“Don’t say that!”_  Kuroo yelled at him, his expression furious. “Don’t say that…”

Bokuto had had enough. He couldn’t stand to see Kuroo look at him like that, like he was some lost kitten left in the rain, helpless and delusional and he just wanted to be alone – “Go away.”

Kuroo stepped toward him, reaching out his hand. “Akaashi wouldn’t want you to be like this – ”

“Akaashi’s  _not here_!” Bokuto screeched. “Akaashi’s not here…”

Kuroo stood in the middle of the room, at loss for words. His hand retracted towards his body like an injured animal. Bokuto couldn’t stand it.

“Go away!” he yelled again.

“Bokuto – ”

“GO AWAY!” Blinded by his fury, Bokuto snatched the thing nearest to him and hurled it at Kuroo.

Kuroo barely pulled his arms up in time to stop the tissue box Bokuto threw at him from smashing against his face. It bounced off his arms and fell to the floor with a  _thump_.

Bokuto turned away before he could see Kuroo’s glossy eyes begin to leak. He trudged to the corned of his room and buried his head in his hands.

For a long moment, Bokuto could feel Kuroo’s presence still in his room. Kuroo hadn’t moved an inch. Once Bokuto buried himself deeper into his arms, deeper into his thoughts, he heard light footsteps leading out of his room and down the stairs.

_What did you do, what did you do –_

He didn’t notice he was crying until he felt wetness on his arms and tasted salt on his chapped lips. It was the first time he had cried since...since Akaashi had left. And he felt no better than when his eyes were drier than the desert.

Bokuto found himself reaching for his phone. His fingers acted without his conscious thought, opening up a new text.

**To Akaashi**

_where are you?_

**To Akaashi**

_why did you have to go?_

**To Akaashi**

_you promised to text me back. you promised_

**To Akaashi**

_akaashi, i need you._

**To Akaashi**

_come back_

**To Akaashi**

_im broken without you._

**To Akaashi**

_im still waiting for that kiss you promised me_

**To Akaashi**

_ill keep waiting until you come back_

**To Akaashi**

_ill wait for however long it takes_

**To Akaashi**

_i promise_

After all, good things come to those who wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Was that angsty enough for you? I hope so. it was inspired by aristotle's essay [Poetics](http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html) which is about tragedies. its an interesting read, though its kinda tough.
> 
> if you feel like yelling with me hmu on my [tumblr](http://satyr-syd.tumblr.com)
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated!!


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